Mikaela's Destiny
by Auto-Knookie
Summary: Distance seems a bit too much for even Sam and Mikaela to overcome and slowly they begin drifting apart. But where Sam's Destiny was to reanimate Optimus Prime, Mikaela's will reignite the fires of hope for an entire race.
1. Chapter 1

Mikaela sighed, her head on her hand as she watched the loading icon go round and round. Sam should have been online ages ago. Mikaela looked at her watch, it was almost seven o'clock. Sam should have been on at 6:30. She looked down at her dog, a rueful smile pulling at one side of her mouth. "Looks like it's just you and me, tonight." The large, droopy jowled Bull Mastiff looked at her and barked once, putting a smile on her face. "That's a great idea, Max. I'm starving," Mikaela said as she dug into her purse for her phone. "How about we order out tonight? My treat?" Max barked again. Mikaela was becoming frustrated at the fruitless search for her phone, so she took her purse by the bottom and shook it out onto the table.

The entire contents of her purse hit the table and scattered everywhere. Her make up went one way, a couple of pens she had forgotten she had put there, went across the table to the other end. Her phone along with a small, metal cylinder both shot off the edge of the table and into a box of scraps. Mikaela rolled her eyes and slid off of the stool and knelt by the box of scrap metal. She carefully lifted a few pieces out of the way, mindful of the sharp edges and reached in to retrieve her phone. Just before she got up, the metal cylinder caught her eye. She carefully tried to extract this too, but her thumb slipped and caught one of the burrs, causing her thumb to throb. She quickly snatched the metal cylinder out of the scrap metal before she got her hand out and wiped the blood off on a shop towel. The cut wasn't bad, however Mikaela figured that it would hurt for quite a while before it healed up.

After she blew the metal shavings off of the phone, she opened it up and dialed the number to the local Pizza delivery service. She ordered a medium Supreme pizza and a Coke with an order of Hot wings for her dad. He always loved those things at lunch. Mikaela closed down the video chatting program and brought up her email. She busied herself with her friend's messages for the half hour it took for the pizza to arrive. She paid for the pizza and sat it down on the work bench where she still had the contents of her purse scattered. She put the hot wings in the fridge and started on the pizza. She took a piece and fed a piece to Max in his bowl. He ate it in record time and was soon begging for more. Mikaela waited until she had nothing but crust left and let Max have that. He wolfed it down gratefully and belched.

Mikaela laughed and patted the large, brown dog on the head. He just sat there, begging for more pizza. Mikaela picked up another slice and sat it on the table in front of Max. He tilted his head and worked the pizza into his mouth, his snout covered in tomato sauce and cheese. Mikaela smiled and ate another slice before she put the rest in the fridge with the hot wings. The guys would appreciate pizza for breakfast since most of them had either nothing or a beer for breakfast. Slowly she cleaned up her mess, wiping up tomato sauce and cleaning up her purse. She started cramming everything back into it, her phone last then the small metal cylinder. She picked it up and turned it over in her hand. It took Mikaela a moment before she remembered what was inside.

She opened the top and stared down into the cylinder. "It should be safe now, huh Max?" Max looked back at her, his head tilting as though he was trying to figure out what she was saying. She smiled and emptied the shard out into her hand. She held it up to the light, looking at the broken symbols covering the smooth metal. She rolled it in her fingers, jumping when it touched her cut. She was not sure if it was her imagination but it had felt like something shocked her when the shard touched her cut. She rolled it over her cut again and was rewarded with the same feeling of static electricity over the broken skin. She held it in her palm, watching as a small drop of blood from the reopened cut on her thumb filled one of the symbols on the shard. She got up from the stool, intending to wash the blood off of the shard when she felt her entire body seize.

Her left hand started to throb like the cut on her thumb, the pain getting worse in waves as the seconds ticked by. Bit by bit she felt the shard in her hand cut into her skin, feeling the sharp edges pressed against her palm. The pain escalated until it felt like someone had sliced her palm open, the pain drawing tears from her eyes to spill down her cheeks. As the last of the shard buried itself into her palm, the lights in the work shop began to brighten, the electric hum becoming deafening white noise. The sound along with the pain becoming unbearable until finely every light bulb burst, showering the work shop with small glass shards as Mikaela fell limply to the ground. Somewhere in the work shop, Max howled mournfully.

* * *

In the haziness of her dream, Mikaela could swear she heard someone calling her name. She flinched when her vision was filled with bright light as a hand griped her shoulders and shook her hard. Mikaela started, having to lay on the glass strewn floor of the work shop for a moment before she remembered what had happened the night previous. The light that had filled her 'dream' was sunlight streaming in through the open sliding doors. "What happened," she asked, rolling over so she could slowly sit up.

Her father put his hand on her shoulder to keep her from getting up. "Not so fast, 'Kaela." He looked her over, shaking his head at the cut on her left palm. "If those weather men were reading their crystal ball right," Mikaela's father drawled out as he wrapped her hand. "we had ourselves a lightening storm that popped up outa no where and disappeared." Mikaela's eye brows rose nearly to the top of her head. "Yea, I call bullshit, too." Mikaela laughed as her father helped her up off of the floor, tiny shards of glass falling off of her clothes and tinkling when they hit the concrete floor. "You sure you feel alright, sweetie?" Mikaela nodded again, running her hands through her messy hair before pulling it up into a messy bun.

The older man nodded to himself. "Well, just to be on the safe side, why don't you go get some rest." Mikaela would have said 'No', but she had to admit that she felt tired. Knocked out or not, sleeping on a concrete floor was not restful at all. As Mikaela stepped out into the morning sun, she felt something warm and wet tickle her nose. She reached up with one of the shop towels to catch what she thought was mucus running out of her nose. What the towel came away with instead was bright red blood. She wiped her nose again, staring down at the towel. She shook her head, the bleeding had only lasted a few seconds. She might have gotten that when she fell to the floor. Mikaela straddled her scooter and rode out of the work shop's parking lot.

She felt much better as she pulled the powder blue scooter up to the single wide trailer she shared with her father. She stepped into the dim interior and could already feel sleep pulling her eyelids down. Mikaela pulled off her helmet and sat it on the small side table by the door, running her hands through her hair again. Her hand didn't throb nearly as much as it did the night before, but it was still uncomfortable. She stripped out of her dirty overalls and stepped into the shower. The warm water was soothing to her aching muscles and she stood under the spray for as long as she could before she started dozing off on her feet. She stepped out of the shower, dried off and changed into her most comfortable cotton pajamas, crawling into her soft bed. As soon as her head hit her pillow, she was fast asleep.

* * *

Mikaela washed her face in the sink, noticing the dark circles under her eyes in the mirror. She felt as tired as she looked, but she had promised her dad that she would help him get his shop off the ground. So she put on her makeup, making sure to cover up the bags under her eyes and use a white eye liner to make herself seem more awake. It seemed to be working so far, which was kudos to the You Tube video that taught her how to use it for just that purpose. She wrapped her dark hair up in a bun and put her helmet over it and made her way to the work shop.

Over the last few months, things seemed to settle into a comfortable pattern. She woke up, went to the work shop, repaired and customized motorcycles and scooters, came home and jumped into bed. Her time chatting with Sam came further and further apart until she began to think of him as that cute kid she was friends with. She knew that Sam had been interested in other girls up at Stanford, but he was simply too nice to say anything. He was definitely too nice to actually approach one of those girls for a date. The result was that the two of them would arrange a date to just pretend, for an hour or so that they had not drifted as far apart as they had. Just one hour to pretend that Mission City was only yesterday and they were still riding the high of their first kiss.

Mikaela sighed as she brought her scooter into the shop, feeling the tell tale tickle in her nose that signaled another nose bleed. She grabbed the rag that was always in her overall pocket now and tilted her head up. She squeezed her nose gently, the rag catching the blood until the trickle stopped. She sighed and tucked the rag back into her pocket, getting started on a customization she had been putting off for a couple of days. As soon as she started removing the wheel hubs and air filter cover from the frame, the day just seemed to fly by. Before she knew it, she had finished stripping the paint from the metal and polishing it smooth for a new coat with the customer's designs. She smiled at her work as her dad called her over for lunch.

He had a bit of a pot luck on the cleaned off work bench at the center of the shop. Several of the other guys had brought left overs from home while her dad had a few pieces of fried chicken from his favorite mom-and-pop restaurant on the outskirts of town. Mikaela had half a taco salad she had saved from the day previous. Conversations criss-crossed the space between them as the guys caught up on the scores from the night before or news another had read in the newspaper about their favorite teams. Tim, who was one of her father's oldest friends held out a picture for everyone to see. At first, Mikaela didn't know what she was looking at until she made out the shape of a hand held in front of a tiny face.

Instantly the entire table erupted in congratulations and pats on the back as Tim basked in the glow of what he confirmed was his 4th child. Mikaela shook her head, smiling to herself as she finished off her taco salad. Her dad launched into a story about when Mikaela was born and she took that as her cue to clean herself up since her dad could spin the sappiest tales around. Though tales of her own childhood would inevitably bring up memories of her mother, and those were always bittersweet. Mikaela threw the plastic bowl and fork in the trash and finished up the Coke she had with her meal before she went out the front to let her food settle. She sat down on the wooden bench the guys took their smoke brakes on and closed her eyes.

When she opened her eyes again, Mikaela felt the hackles on her neck rise. The entire work shop had been replaced by an ever expanding view of what looked like rocky plains. Though if she looked closer, the rocks looked almost metallic. She got up from her seat one one of those metallic rocks, turning around to see the area expanding all around her as far as her eyes could see. The light around here seemed to come from to places at once. Two suns filled the sky; in the east, a small yellow sun shone dimly, to the south, a large orange sun cast it's warm rays down on the metal expanse around her. The result was an almost warm, honeyed glow to the metal around her. She backed up, leaning her hand on the rock she had gotten up from, only to find that its shape had changed.

She turned around, her eyes falling upon what she recognized as a foot. The toes of the foot were almost as tall as she was, and the leg that foot was attached to seemed to rise forever into the blinding glow of the twin suns. Had she never met the Autobots, she would have been scared out of her mind. But she noted with some curiosity, that the being in front of her, or what she could see through the reflection of the suns, was looking down at her. She could almost make out the glow of its eyes. Their blue hue reassured her that she had not stepped into a nightmare after all. Perhaps she had fallen asleep on the bench and not noticed?

"Mikaela Banes," the sounds that made up the voice that came from the being in front of her startled Mikaela, shaking her to her bones. She took a reflexive step away, almost fearing what would happen next. The being never moved other than to tilt its head curiously. "You need not fear me. I will not harm you," the voice shook her again, though now that Mikaela knew what to expect, she felt less fear and more wonderment. She had the strangest feeling that she should know this being from somewhere. A cloud moved lazily to cover the suns' light, bringing the being's face into view. Even though he was a mechanical being, it seemed ancient to her eyes. Or perhaps it what she felt was a sad expression making him seem old.

The being opened its mouth, the voice softer this time; "You do not know me, Mikaela Banes, but I have been watching you for some time." Mikaela could only stare open mouthed. "For all that you have done for my children, I am grateful. But I must ask more of you, if you will have it." Mikaela made no move to speak or respond in any way as she tilted her head in her own version of curiosity. "Even now, those of my children who yet live have lost their way. Their minds fill with despair even as yours fills with hope. Without the Allspark, made from my own body, there can be no more Cybertron. Those who are created in its absence are doomed to suffer a sparkless existence." The being seemed to lean closer to her, his face coming more into view as well as the sorrow in his eyes. "You have taken within yourself, whether by design or chance the last of all that remains of my gift to my children. It seems fitting to me that it is you whom the shard had chosen. You who were instrumental in preserving not only my children, but the people of your world as well."

Mikaela opened her mouth to ask why the shard had chosen her when the being began to speak again. "I must ask, Mikaela Banes; Friend of Optimus Prime, Ally of the Autobots, a thing which I feel I have no right to ask. I must ask you this, because the suffering of my children wounds me deeply. Will you, Mikaela Banes, be willing to become the first Cybertronian Mother of my children?" Mikaela furrowed her brow, not quite sure what she was being asked. "Will you be willing to join the wonder that is your Human womb with the most worthy of my children's spark to bring forth a new generation of Cybertronians who will have the ability to bring forth more as a human woman can bring forth her offspring?"

Mikaela's mouth hung open, her voice completely gone as she finely understood what this being was asking her. Her mind told her that there was no chance in Hell that this could work, her heart however understood the pain this being felt as his children were forced to face a future where there would eventually be no more Autobots. The answer came to her mind as the name of the being who asked her this deeply personal favor came to her. She had made her decision as the clouds parted and threw the face of the being speaking to her in their harsh light once again, blocking him from view. She felt herself waking as a hand on her shoulder shook her gently. "Primus," she whispered.

"Who?" Mikaela started as her father gave her one of those looks that said he thought she had been sampling his whiskey.

"Nothing," Mikaela got up, stretching her back. "Just talking in my sleep..."


	2. Chapter 2

Mikaela stepped off of the jet as it landed at the NEST facility on Diego Garcia. The entire place was one solid concrete foundation with several large buildings scattered around with Air Traffic Control Towers on all four corners of the island to make sure nothing invaded the restricted air space. Mikaela stretched her stiff muscles, feeling exhausted even though she had slept the whole way from Tranquility to this little island in the Indian Ocean. Normally the balmy climate, gentle sea breezes and swaying palm trees would have her ready to sunbathe. But right now, she felt the distinct desire to crawl into a warm bed and just go to sleep for the rest of the year. Mikaela had to remind herself that she had come for a reason. She would be able to sleep later.

She let the three uniformed men lead her past the main enclosure, its doors opened wide to reveal where the Autobots rested between missions. She smiled as she saw the seemingly ordinary looking vehicles taking up one half of the enormous hangar. She remembered the first time she had met the Autobots resting in this hangar like it was yesterday. She had been scared, confused and mostly just wanting nothing more than to go home, slip under the covers and forget any of this had happened. She was glad that she had not listened to that panicked voice inside her head that night. Sam had a lot to do with that.

Mikaela sighed softly, willing herself not to think about Sam right now. She had instructed the United States government to keep Sam out of the loop for this. Even the Autobots were unaware of her presence on this island and she wanted to keep it that way for a little while longer. Captain Lennox had visited her several weeks ago after one of the routine physical examinations she went through once a year had turned up something odd. The results did not surprise her since she had been feeling strange since the incident with the shard of the Allspark she had absorbed. What did surprise her was the eagerness of the U.S. government to pull her away from her home to 'study' what had resulted from the small incident with the shard. At least she had been assured that the scientists and doctors would not preform any undue or painful tests on her without Captain Lennox' express say so. Or at least without buying her dinner first.

She slowly walked past the second row of buildings, holding her arms around herself as though she were cold. She was dressed quite warmly in a pair of faded blue jeans and a Stanford sweatshirt Sam had sent her a few months back. Despite the shirt being so long and loose it looked like a dress, she felt about as unfeminine as ever. Flying for nearly 10 hours on a C130 and then a Harrier would do that to just about anyone, she thought.

The uniformed men opened a set of metal doors for her, Mikaela's eyes adjusting to the sudden change in lighting. The building they had let her into seemed to be a medical bay and laboratory of some kind. Men and women in white clean room suits scurried around inside the hermetically sealed Plexiglas enclosures. Inside one of those enclosures was an examination bed, in the other was a spartan living area with only the minimal comforts afforded to a low ranking recruit. As soon as her eyes noted this she was brought up short by a thin, partially bald man in a dark suit. He seemed to scan her as though she were some stray dog his son had brought home and asked if he could keep, his face set in a scowl that made him look like he had just tried to suck the juice out of a lemon through a straw. "Adviser Galloway," the man stuck out his hand and shook Mikaela's like he was trying to snap it off in one go.

Mikaela snatched her hand back, rubbing her wrist. "Hi, I'm Mikaela."

"Yes," he read through a file, adjusting his reading glasses over his nose. "Mikaela Banes, twenty years old, arrested once for-"

"That was expunged," Mikaela had her hands on her hips now, giving the Adviser a look that made him think twice about recalling her short criminal record.

"Right," Galloway seemed to falter a moment as he ran through the itinerary in his head. He was used to getting through his small speeches, though lately he was becoming quite flustered with NEST and the Autobots. He looked through the Psych profile done on Mikaela, thinking that she would be another one who would not afford him the respect he deserved. "Follow me."

Mikaela rolled her eyes behind Galloway and fell into step behind him, the three soldiers who had showed her in fell into step, one on either side of her and one behind. The Adviser turned left from the door and went down a narrow hallway that took them away from the Plexiglas enclosures and into an observation booth of sorts. This booth flanked the enclosure with the living area and was as the Adviser had confirmed one way glass. Mikaela glared directly at the back of the Adviser's head. Either he ignored her or did not care that she felt like a lab rat already.

"This is where the medical staff will observe you during your waking hours." If he noticed that Mikaela was imagining beating his head in with her shoe he did not seem to care. "During the night you will be observed by motion sensing cameras for more privacy." Mikaela was fuming, but she knew better than to say anything since she was now officially a 'guest' of the United States government and would be kept at the facility whether or not she approved. "Anything else you need will be provided after it has met with the approval of the ranking officer."

Mikaela bristled, "And who is the ranking officer?"

"I am." Mikaela whirled around, startled by the new voice after she had been so focused on Galloway. She felt immediately relieved as Captain Lennox rounded the corner to the observation booth. Even Galloway saw that Lennox looked pretty angry.

"I believe," Lennox cut Galloway off just as the man opened his mouth to speak, "that we had discussed this matter and come to an agreement." Galloway had his hands on his hips, trying to look like anything but a scolded puppy. "We, or at least I had decided, Mikaela would be informed of this after she had gotten a hot meal and a shower."

Mikaela had bristled again, crossing her arms over her chest and tapping her foot. She was not thrilled about being spoken of as though she was not in the same room as these two. Rather than just sit on the sidelines at this cock fight, she waved her right hand in front of the quarreling men, snapping her fingers in their faces. "Focus!" The two men seemed somewhat put out that they had been called down in a crowded place. "You said something about food and a hot shower?"

Lennox didn't miss a beat, casting a smug look at Galloway before he held asked Mikaela to follow him. "It's not the best food in the world," he commented, looking over his shoulder. "but it beats Sea Rations by a long shot." Mikaela had no idea what 'Sea Rations' were but Lennox had used such a disgusted tone with the word that she could not think of them as appetizing by any stretch of the imagination.

True to his word, the food was not the best she had ever had but she couldn't complain with the pleasant fullness she felt as she left the mess hall and went to the showers. Lennox and two other soldiers were with her at all times, standing outside the showers as she got herself cleaned up. At least the base had hot water and Mikaela took advantage of that. She let herself soak for a few minutes before she washed and conditioned her hair and scrubbed herself with the surprisingly good smelling body wash.

Afterward she was escorted to the Plexiglas living area, allowed to change into her night clothes and left to her own devices. She found that the Plexiglas went opaque when she needed to sleep. She smiled as she sat on the edge of the bed, her hand smoothing out the white sheets. The mattress was not all that uncomfortable, however they did not have the abundance of pillows she loved to sleep with. Mikaela sighed and pulled the covers back and slid under them, the lights automatically going out as soon as she closed her eyes.

* * *

Mikaela woke early, the bright lights of the small living area coming on as they sensed her movement. Over the last few months she had gotten somewhat used to the schedule kept by the observers and workers of the laboratory. They would enter the lab at about six in the morning, scan the footage from the night before and file it away on the base's main server. They would then give her her morning checkup which consisted of blood pressure readings, drawing a small vial of blood and checking her pupils. She would then be allowed to get dressed and go to the mess hall for breakfast and to visit with the Autobots who were also on base.

Afterword, at about ten in the morning, she would go back to the enclosure to be subjected to scans of every type while she tried to read one of the books that was approved by Lennox. No matter what, there were certain books that were not allowed into the area because of their effect on her mental state. Mikaela would huff and just throw a pillow at Lennox when he refused her requests, not caring that the pillow bounced off of the Plexiglas harmlessly.

The doctors did not want her to become upset because her nose bleeds started when her heart rate was elevated. Which was also why she was not allowed to read several novels she had requested. The doctors had specifically forbid romance novels or love stories or anything that could possibly evoke a similar reaction. Which was also why she had not been allowed a television or newspaper. Mikaela was beginning to feel like a lab rat, forced to run mazes for her next meal.

Curiously enough, her meals had become larger over the past few months and she now ate at least four or five times a day. The doctors could only tell her that she was building up enormous calorie stores on her body but none could tell her why. Mikaela had not questioned it too much since she was never one to argue with her stomach. She had never understood how the girls she had gone to school with could starve themselves just to look thin. She was never what they would call thin, though it never bothered her in the least. After her last meal of the day, before she would turn in for the night, the doctors would take several more measurements to determine just why her body was storing calories as it was.

This night was no different. Mikaela waited out the indignity, sighing ruefully as the doctors preformed skin caliper checks and ultrasounds before they quickly made their way out of the enclosure and the glass became opaque again. It did not help that she had been feeling restless the past few days. She had taken up the habit of rearranging the furniture in her enclosure, trying to find something to do with herself. After finely rearranging the bed in a position that would most likely piss Galloway off, Mikaela slid under the covers and drifted off to sleep.

The next morning, Wheelie let himself into the facility carrying his favorite human game, Yahtzee. He hummed to himself one of the songs he had heard Bumblebee playing on his radio the day before when Mikaela had visited him after dinner. She had asked Wheelie if he could visit her since he was small enough to get through the doors without breaking everything. Not that she would have missed the look on Galloway's face for all the world when he came in a saw her playing Yahtzee with a 20 foot tall Autobot, she didn't want to deal with the hollering fit Galloway would most likely descend into. Wheelie giggled to himself at that thought as he came up to the glass enclosure.

Wheelie adjusted the game in his hands as he pushed the button to notify Mikaela that she had a guest. He was so focused on making sure the game didn't fall and scatter everywhere that he had not looked up until Mikaela had not answered. What met his optics froze him to the spot. His body started shaking, the game in his hands falling to the floor, the die scattering to opposite corners of the room. As the first of the lab workers came in, he let out an ear piercing scream, his hands flailing as he hugged himself to one of their legs, sobbing against the white fabric. It had taken all of 5 seconds for the entire lab to go into high alert, alarms going off in the building as the doctors tried to figure out what was going on.

Lennox, having heard the alarms while he finished breakfast burst through the door. He suddenly wished he had not eaten anything as he felt his stomach churn. Most of the Plexiglas was gone except for the part that had once been the front to Mikaela's holding area. The metal from the walls, floor and even ceiling looked like it had been pulled toward one corner of the building. Lennox swore up and down that the metal structure resting in the corner of the lab looked almost exactly like a cocoon. It hung from the walls like the cocoons of moths he had seen when he was a kid. But what made him wish he had not eaten anything, was the fact that the front part was made of the Plexiglas used to seal off her holding area. The void inside was filled with a bluish liquid and inside that liquid floated Mikaela.

At least Lennox thought it was Mikaela that floated inside. What was left of her anyway. Mikaela seemed to be folded over in a fetal position, her face obscured by her dark hair. The blue fluid was discolored around her body, where it was slowly dissolving the soft flesh around her bones. Mikaela seemed to be either asleep, or dead because she made no reaction to the slow removal of her soft tissues. Her ribcage was exposed, her internal organs nearly gone except for something behind her breast bone that seemed to glow, pulsing with the came rhythm as a beating heart. As each of the doctors watched, her bones started dissolving until everything that had been Mikaela was gone. Behind the group, Galloway feinted dead away.

* * *

Megatron growled softly as he observed the progress of the hatchlings that had survived. They would be small, weak; hardly worth the effort to keep them alive. Despite this, Megatron had been unwilling to abandon these hatchlings on the off chance that this was the last chance they had to revive the Decepticons. He stalked back to the seat his master had occupied and sank his weary body into it. Starscream was skulking somewhere, doing his best to keep himself invisible. Megatron leaned his head back, off-lining his optics as he began his shutdown procedure to conserve energy. Just as he started the final program, he sat bolt upright, his hands crushing the arm rests.

"Starscream," he bellowed, watching as his second in command skulked out of the shadows, his posture one of submission. "What is the status of that little project you were working on?"

Starscream fidgeted slightly. "It is ready, Megatron," Starscream kept his optics down turned toward Megatron's feet. "It only needs to be tested."

"Good," Megatron purred darkly, his optics blazing like a furnace. "We should have that opportunity soon enough."

Starscream bowed, though his mind would not let go of the one question he knew he should not ask. His hesitation was clear to Megatron, who lifted himself from his seat to lift Starscream up to his level. He cared not that his minion sputtered and tried to pry his clawed hands from his throat. "Have you become attached to these hatchlings?" Starscream, shivered, afraid to answer. "Or perhaps you have your doubts about my decisions." That did it for Starscream, he stopped struggling, doing his best to deny any doubts he had of his master. He would rather be seen as a sentimental fool than as a traitor.

Megatron barked a laugh and let Starscream go, ignoring the choked sounds as Starscream struggled to stand again. His mind was fixed on his prize, and he would not fail this time.

* * *

Wheelie paced back and forth in front of Mikaela's new enclosure. The building had been modified so that Mikaela's cocoon was encased in metal and Plexiglas. After weeks of watching nothing but a small blue sphere pulsing inside the fluid, a new structure appeared. It seemed to grow in fits and starts, beginning as a thin metal strand and building itself into what now looked like a metal skeleton about 15 feet tall. The torso had enclosed the small blue sphere, though the blue glow could be seen through the gaps in the metal.

Months had passed as the skeleton was added to, the bare bones fleshed out in a way that was clearly Cybertronian. The face began to take shape as did the small mechanisms that allowed for movement and protection of vulnerable inner circuitry. Optimus had asked to view Mikaela's progress and a camera had been setup near her enclosure so that the Autobots, Ratchet in particular could see. He had stayed glued to the monitor for many months now. He was watching when Mikaela moved for the first time in nearly a year. As soon he watched the slow movement of her arms, wrapping themselves around her torso, all of the tension in his frame eased.

He had explained to the doctors on staff, that this was how new Cybertronians were created. The new sparks were immersed in Energon inside a protective membrane and the nanites chosen and programed for the task would build the body, electronics and everything else the individual would need by changing the Energon into any material they needed. The process would be repeated on a huge scale as hundreds to thousands of individuals would be developing inside of their own protective membranes. The whole entire process was like watching a chick develop inside an egg, or a child inside it's mother's womb.

The months turned into a year and the Autobots had all of their attention, when they could spare it, on Mikaela. Ratchet had even convinced the on staff doctors to let him observe. He had argued that he could provide care when Mikaela's gestation was through and he was not about to let these humans use a chopper to transport her in such a vulnerable state. The enclosure had even been modified to accommodate Ratchet's coming and going, which he went through as he headed back to the hanger to rest with the Autobots. Ratchet had just settled on his suspension when he felt like he had gotten hit by Bonecrusher, every system going offline and taking consciousness with it.

Ratchet groaned, each of his systems coming back online slowly and not all in tandem. His audio sensors came on line before anything else, leaving him to blunder around in the dark. His hands found a familiar shape, and he gave it a good shake. Ratchet was rewarded with Optimus' groan of pain. It seemed like the entire hangar had been picked up and shaken. His audio sensors were bombarded by several voices speaking at once at high volume. He thought he could pick out Captain Lennox in the mix, though Ratchet could not be sure. He waited until the voices had quieted themselves before he tried to bring his visual sensors back on line. After a few minutes of fuzziness and static, what was left of the hangar came into view.

Lennox came into view, blood oozing from a cut somewhere above his hair line. He looked like he had just run a mile as he took in the condition of the hangar and its occupants. "Is everyone alright?

Ratchet, spurred on by his purpose, checked each and every one of the Autobots with a quick scan. Detailed diagnostics would have to wait. "All are functioning properly. What happened, Captain Lennox? Are your men still intact?" The look on Lennox' face did not make Ratchet feel any better about their situation.

"Megatron. At least I think it was him." He shook his head, running a gloved hand through his hair. He looked to his feet, not able to meet Ratchet's optics. "We were blindsided too," his voice wavered. "Mikaela is gone."

* * *

Megatron felt a great upsurge of pride as he looked over his prize. "Fit for a Prime," he rumbled quietly, watching the beautiful femme in front of him still resting in stasis. Had he not been brought back with a piece of the Allspark, he might have missed this wonderful opportunity. His claws roamed greedily over Mikaela's frame, tracing delicate joints and the seam that ran vertically from her throat to just above her mid-section. He stood facing the femme, watching as she slowly came online and finely as she realized that she was not where she was supposed to be. Megatron took one step closer, chuckling darkly as Mikaela tried her best to become part of the wall she was anchored to.

He raised his hand, watching her flinch as he caressed her face. She seemed unprepared for that small gesture of affection and she stared at Megatron quizzically. "My dear, Mikaela," Megatron tried to minimize the disgusted sound from having to pronounce her human name. "Why would I wish to harm you?" He never gave her a chance to answer, his claws again tracing the seams of her armor. It seemed to him that Mikaela had not yet mastered how to speak, though he did not feel inclined to educate her. He did not desimate Diego Garcia to have a conversation with Mikaela. He stepped closer to the femme until their bodies were only a few millimeters from each other.

Mikaela had not expected any of this when she had come online. She vaguely remembered the secure feeling that had enveloped her for the past year bleeding away and the sensation of moving. But that was it until her optics had settled on Megatron. With their bodies so close together, Mikaela had no doubt what Megatron wanted her for. Somehow he had gotten past both the Autobots and the defenses around Diego Garcia, freed her from her chrysalis and spirited her away to wherever they were now. Her foot twisted one of the bolts holding the shackle to the wall, dragging it out by just a fraction of an inch. If Megatron really wanted what she had, he would have to work for it.

Megatron drew his clawed hand up her side, noting with some satisfaction the surprise on her face as the current skittered over her metallic 'skin'. She had schooled her face into one of disgust but the pleasure had shown for only a moment. Megatron was incapable of grinning in the human sense but his face displayed the grim amusement at Mikaela's defiance. He wrapped both of his arms around Mikaela's body, smiling as he closed that minute gap between them. He was rewarded with Mikaela's whimper when he continued the slow torment, sending currents of electricity over her body. He had never met a femme who did not succumb to flattery or threats, though pleasure did smooth out any wrinkles in the process. He was not about to rip apart his prize just yet. Perhaps after she had served her purpose.

Megatron was vaguely aware of Starscream lurking somewhere in the shadows like he always did, waiting for his chance with the femme. That would be just fine with Megatron; after he had secured his 'immortality' of course. What had begun as choked whimpers had become cries of pleasure as Megatron expertly sent electricity skittering across Mikaela's body. The effect would have been somewhat disturbing to human eyes. But to Cybertronian optics, this was foreplay, and like a good lover, Megatron drove Mikaela into the Cybertronian equivalent of a release. He waited until Mikaela finely on-lined her optics again, holding her shaking body steady in his arms.

As she finely came to, the metal plates that made up the armor of his upper torso slid away, piece by piece, to reveal Megatron's corrupted spark. Out of instinct and in response to the pleasure she had received, the armor around Mikaela's upper torso also slid away, leaving her sky blue spark exposed to Megatron's crimson one. At the very last moment, Mikaela realized what Megatron meant to do and tried to pull away. However, Megatron's grip on her was solid and he brought their bodies together before Mikaela could figure out how to bring her armor back over her spark. Mikaela tried as hard as she could to break Megatron's hold but every move she made only encouraged him. His grip was crushing and if she had still been human, fatal. Megatron's guttural growls filled her audio sensors as she struggled in vain. The sensations soon became too intense for Mikaela to do anything but hope Megatron did not rip her apart.

The pleasure seemed to be everywhere at once and even though she had no choice in the matter, Mikaela soon became swept up in it. She had brought up an image of Optimus, superimposing it onto Megatron and held that image in her mind. The sensations built to a crescendo as Megatron finely achieved his release, a wave of energy hitting Mikaela like a brick wall. This combined with her mental image of Optimus sent her over the edge as well, her voice joining Megatron's beastly roar of triumph. Then just like that, it was over. Megatron released her, his armor sliding back into place as he stood for a moment to collect himself. Mikaela slumped against the wall, her hands held above her head, the restraints straining to keep her up. Her armor slid back slowly as she finely got her feet back under her.

Megatron met her optics, chuckling when he saw the quiet defiance. He did not care if she hated him. He would always get what he desired. Then he turned around and stalked further into the structure he held her in, leaving Mikaela alone. Her optics picked up movement in the shadows as Starscream emerged, his eyes glinting with glee as Megatron left his prize unguarded.

* * *

Mikaela did not want to bring her optics online for anything. Even when a gentle hand shook her shoulders she refused to acknowledge the other being's presence. She even went so far as to mute her own audio sensors. It was only when she felt her bonds being cut that she dared to online her optics. She was immediately convinced that her mind was somehow hallucinating, if her current mind was capable of such a thing. She could have sworn that Bumblebee stood in front of her, one of his hands an arc wielder that was making short work of the bonds that held her feet still. She stared at him as though he were the most alien thing she had ever seen even when he beckoned to her to follow him. Somehow the notion of being taller than him startled her so much that her only response was just to stare.

She was finely able to move when the spy took her hand and pulled her along, keeping a firm grip on her as he maneuvered into and out of shadows made by the meager sunlight on the heavy machinery inside the building. Mikaela felt dumbstruck, just staring at the back of Bumblebee's head. She reached out to poke him on his armor, trying to reconcile with herself that she was actually going to escape. She had finely allowed herself to feel elated at the prospect when she heard a familiar voice just on the other side of the large boiler they were hiding against. She froze in place, afraid to make a single sound as she listened to Megatron speaking to Starscream. Even though she could not understand the language, Mikaela could swear that Starscream was being indignant to his commander. Megatron was not surprisingly angry at his underling's attempts to undermine his plans.

Bumblebee motioned for her to take a single step forward, encouraging her with a slight tug on her hand. She complied and took one slow step forward, feeling like she were holding her breath. Any minute she expected one of the two Decepticons to hear or suspect something and see them trying to escape. Bumblebee tugged on her hand again, encouraging her to take one more step forward. He kept this up, seeming to understand the state of terror Mikaela was in. Bumblebee felt they were making headway out of the building when he encouraged Mikaela to pick up the pace. She complied as much as she was able, which was not very much. She was weak and frightened and both slowed her down considerably. As she took another step forward she heard something pop as she lifted her foot up. She had registered that she had stepped on a loose piece of metal whose bolts had weakened enough to make it crack when weight was put on it when she felt something slam into her from behind.

Mikaela landed with a thud, feeling something heavy pinning her down to the floor. She turned her head and spotted Starscream's foot just under her elbow. The Seeker had lifted his main cannon and aimed it toward Bumblebee as the little spy ducked out of the way. Mikaela grabbed onto Starscream's arm and pulled, making the shot intended for Bee's hiding place instead dislodge one of the steel evaporators from its moorings on the floor. Starscream wrenched his arm away from Mikaela, pinning her down with his body to prevent any more insolence on her part. She began to struggle underneath his weight, trying to pull herself from under him. Being a Mech, Starscream had a natural advantage over Mikaela strength wise. Though, like all males, his center of gravity was higher than a female's and it did not take too much energy to push Starscream onto his back side. The problem was scrambling away before Starscream grabbed hold her her ankles. She did not have the leverage to pull away as Starscream pulled her back and onto him. It was at about this time that the Seeker began to wonder why Megatron had not come toward the commotion.

His answer came in the form of an explosion from outside the abandoned series of buildings the two had been using as a holding area for their prize. Mikaela rolled onto her back and kicked her free leg at Starscream until he finely let her go. She scrambled to her feet and ran as fast as she could away from Starscream. She was sure that she would find the exit somewhere but the place was a maze of machinery and pipes that trying to find a turn that did not lead to a dead end was challenging. Mikaela stopped in her tracks as she found herself in another dead end. She wanted to scream as she backed up and into something solid behind her. Without thinking she twisted herself around and swung her fist at where she hoped the beings face was. She realized as the force of her swing brought her crashing to the ground that who was actually behind her was a good 10 feet or so shorter than who she thought would be there.

She shook herself as she was lifted up and steadied on her feet by the same yellow Autobot that had gotten her loose from her bindings. Not even the situation could keep the soft chuckles from rising from the little spy's vocalizer. He took her hand again and led her through the maze of pipes, valves and steel machines that criss crossed the entire building's interior. He told her to get out of sight when they finely got to the large bay doors that had been hidden by shelves full of boxes that stretched to the ceiling. Bumblebee seemed to wait for some hidden signal before he tore out of the bay. Mikaela struggled to keep up with him as the sounds of battle seemed to come closer. Though they were not running toward the battle, the battle seemed to be coming toward them.

The rear of the building was crammed with steel holding tanks and covered with a lattice of pipes of every size that it made the area look like an impressionist painter's study of the color rust. The clutter made the approaching mechs hard to make out but Mikaela did not stay to identify who was crashing through the maze of metal, she just ran. Bumblebee reached back and grabbed her hand, pulling her along as he sped up as fast as his legs could take him. He would not risk transforming since he knew that Mikaela had no alternate form yet and would never be able to keep up with him. The two ran behind two more buildings and into a side street where a trailer was waiting with its back open. Bee did not have to show her what he wanted her to do. Mikaela carefully maneuvered herself into a sitting position inside the trailer as Bee closed the back, leaving her in total darkness.

Mikaela turned her head as she heard something driving toward her though she knew that she could not see anything through the steel of the trailer. Suddenly the whole thing vibrated as something hooked up to the trailer's hitch and started driving without stopping to change gears. Mikaela made herself sit as still as possible, eventually laying on her back with her knees pulled up. The sound of the engine and cars passing by eventually lulled her to something close to sleep. She dreamed of the same golden lit metallic landscape that she had for the past few months now. What ever words that were spoken between her and the being that always seemed to occupy that place she could not remember as she heard voices close by. She activated her optics but had to put a hand in front of them to shield them from the bright light. The lighting dimmed a few levels as Mikaela focused on who was around her.

She slowly sat up, her optics falling first on Bumblebee. The little spy looked positively pleased with himself as he stood a little out of the way. Ratchet was right beside her, optics focused on hers with that tense expression on his face that always said he was expecting the worst. The only other mech in the area Mikaela was in was Optimus and he seemed a little worse for wear. He looked suspiciously like he had just received quite a few repairs to one of his arms and the lower part of his left leg. The leader of the Autobots hung back as Ratchet began his scans, his face still set in that worrisome expression. The Medic's hands began a more thorough exam as they felt along the structural supports and tested her joints. Ratchet had made a move to open her chest to examine her spark, but the look on Mikaela's face stopped him cold. He did not need to ask questions to know why she was suddenly so defensive of her privacy after so thorough an examination.

Ratchet put a hand on her shoulder and gave a pointed look at the two Autobots who were loitering in the small area. Optimus got the message first and drug a very confused Bumblebee out of the large door and closed it behind them. Mikaela looked somewhat confused at Ratchet. "You are going to have to trust me," he said softly, motioning for Mikaela to lay down on the rough exam table. She finely complied though she still felt a little worried. She only resisted for a moment when Ratchet asked her to open her armor but sighed and relaxed, letting the armor slide away to reveal her spark among the inner workings of her body. She turned her head away from Ratchet, fighting the sudden feeling of being naked under his scrutiny.

"Mikaela." She ignored his voice as he tried to get her attention. "Mikaela, look at me," his voice held more authority now and Mikaela turned her head toward him. His look of worry had returned as he examined something inside her chest. She could not see what was going on from the blinding glow of her own spark but what ever it was, Ratchet did not like it. "Are you familiar with the term 'Sparkling'?" Mikaela shook her head, unwilling to speak a single word. The medic sighed, looking as thoug he were trying to choose his words carefully. "The closest translation I can come up with, would be 'Fetus' or 'Baby', though neither of those words seem to properly describe what I am seeing." Ratched did not see Mikaela's expression of utter horror. "Normally, I would see this in the 'Nursurys' on Cybertron where fields upon fields of 'Hatchlings' were 'grown'. But I have never seen this process happening within another's shell."

Mikaela tuned Ratchet out as he continued to talk mostly to himself. Her thoughts were racing around her skull and she could not seem to find a place to sit still and let her collect her mind. She offlined her optics and laid her head down on the exam table. She tried to think of anything but what Ratchet had told her and failed miserably. Her mind kept going back to Ratchet's words, repeating them over and over in an endless loop in her mind. This was not how it was supposed to be. She was supposed to be carrying the 'Sparkling' of an Autobot, not the leader of the Decepticons! Allthough with all she had been forced to endure it could also belong to Starscream. Mikaela wished she had enough strength to kill the both of them but in the end all she could do was lay on the table as Ratchet silently watched her. He had given up trying to get her attention again, guessing that this discovery had given her a shock. He allowed her armor to close again as he went out the door Optimus and Bee had gone through wondering if he should keep her secret or tell his leader what Megatron had done.


End file.
